Lithuanian Finance Minister Kristupas Vaitekūnas called for strengthening sanctions against Russia, especially regarding the energy and financial sectors. He also emphasized the need to strengthen sanctions against Belarus due to hybrid attacks.
Lukashenka will pay for allowing the attack on Ukraine from his territory, because the beginning of the full-scale war "came" from the territory of Belarus, Zelenskyy emphasized.
33-year-old Belarusian citizen Yana Leonova was extradited from France to the United States. She is accused of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling and money laundering, and defrauding the United States.
The Kremlin has created a network of agents for hybrid warfare against Europe, involving marginalized individuals, often Russian-speaking men with criminal records. This was revealed by GLOBSEC and ICCT experts in a joint report presented to the European Parliament.
President Zelenskyy held a conversation with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, discussing energy aid and the security situation. Lithuania offered support regarding gas, which is critically important ahead of winter.
Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed due to an unknown drone, which turned out to be a civilian drone. The airspace was reopened at 10:18 local time.
The American OFAC office has lifted some sanctions from the Belarusian airline.
Belarusian peacekeepers are ready to participate in a potential mission in Ukraine, a representative of the Belarusian armed forces said. However, there are no official invitations or discussions within the UN regarding this, and Kyiv does not consider Minsk a neutral party in the war.
In October 2025, Lithuania recorded 275 attempts of illegal border crossing from Belarus, almost half of which occurred in the last five days of the month. This is a record for the last six months, which happened after the closure of checkpoints due to drone cigarette smuggling.
The former People's Deputy of the IX convocation is accused of collaboration and large-scale fraud, which entails life imprisonment. He enriched himself by UAH 14.5 million using a scheme for supplying fertilizers and spreading pro-Russian narratives.
Lithuania and Russia are negotiating the extension of the gas transit agreement to the Kaliningrad region, which expires in December 2025. Lithuania receives approximately 12 million euros in revenue annually for gas transit.
In Zhytomyr region, the circumstances of two explosions of ZIL and UAZ cars in the border zone with Belarus are being investigated. As a result of the incidents, five people aged 19 to 65 died, and three more were injured.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia's shadow fleet numbers more than 1,500 vessels, of which 340 are key, and 65 require immediate sanctions. Canada, Britain, Australia, Japan, and the EU are helping with this by reducing imports from the Russian Federation.
Lithuanian authorities temporarily closed the airspace over Vilnius due to balloons from Belarus, which was the sixth such incident in October. This led to two flights being turned back and increased control at the border with Belarus.
New Zealand imposes sanctions on 65 more shadow fleet vessels and entities from Belarus, Iran, and North Korea.
Ukraine supported Lithuania over Belarusian provocations and airspace incursions, which caused disruptions to civil aviation. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called Lukashenka's actions hybrid attacks by the Russian Federation against Europe.
Lithuania is temporarily closing two border crossings with Belarus, Medininkai and Šalčininkai, for a month, starting on Wednesday. Exceptions will apply to diplomats, EU citizens, and other categories, while Šalčininkai will be completely closed and Medininkai partially open.
The European Union has condemned Belarus for provocative actions after balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes forced Lithuania to close airports. The EU warned of possible further sanctions but refrained from directly accusing the Lukashenka regime due to Hungary's objections.
Russia's Oreshnik complex with hypersonic missiles to be deployed in Belarus in December.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the consideration of opening the Bobrowniki-Berestovitsa and Kuźnica-Bruzgi crossings, which were closed in 2023 and 2021. This decision is "trial" and possible due to enhanced border security.
This refers to the corporate rights of OJSC "Gomselmash" in three Ukrainian companies - LLC "Trading House Gomselmash-Ukraine", LLC "Trading House MTZ-Belarus-Ukraine" and LLC "Promin-Yug".
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó was in Minsk on Tuesday, where he used Russian in his speech during the Eurasian conference. The Budapest representative met with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, after which he announced Russia's openness to a summit with the United States.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv is ready for peace talks with Russia, ruling out any territorial concessions. He emphasized that negotiations could take place anywhere except Russia or Belarus.
20,502 foreign students study in Ukrainian higher education institutions, most of them from China and Azerbaijan. Over 400 Russian citizens also receive education in Ukrainian universities.
The European Union has supported Lithuania in connection with regular flights of contraband balloons from Belarus. President of the European Council António Costa assured of full solidarity with the people of Lithuania and called on Belarus to cease hybrid activities.
Lithuania calls on the EU to impose new sanctions against Belarus after the flight of contraband balloons. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys called it part of the Belarusian regime's hybrid warfare.
Lithuania will start shooting down smuggler balloons from Belarus that have repeatedly violated the country's airspace. This decision was made after Vilnius airport was closed four times due to such incidents.
Lithuania has temporarily closed the "Šalčininkai" and "Medininkai" border crossings with Belarus due to balloon flights. Vilnius International Airport has also suspended operations until morning.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated the need to consider restricting transit to Kaliningrad and a long-term closure of the border with Belarus. This is a response to a hybrid attack against Lithuania, which included the shutdown of airports due to balloons from Belarus.
On the evening of October 24, Lithuania closed two of its largest airports and border crossing points with Belarus. This happened due to air balloons flying from the Belarusian side.
